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The Wall Street Journal: Oracle taps Nokia for maps

Nokia and Oracle are expected to announce a deal tomorrow that will give Oracle customers access to Nokia’s growing stable of data and location services.

The deal, which is due to be announced at OracleWorld conference in San Francisco, is expected to expand the reach of the Finnish handset maker’s Navteq mapping services, The Wall Street Journal reported. Financial details of the arrangement were not revealed.

Nokia has been looking to ramp up the customer base for its location-based services, which it acquired with its $8.1 billion purchase of Navteq. Thanks to that 2007 acquisition, the company claims an automotive presence in more than 80 percent of in-dash navigation modules and after-market devices.

In addition to supplying 3D map data for Microsoft’s online mapping services, Nokia has also partner with Groupon to provide greater context and flexibility around the maps it feeds out, particularly in mobile. In March, the company launched turn-by-turn walking directions optimized for devices with mobile browsers.

The deal emerges as Apple battles consumer fervor over its decision to dump Google Maps from iOS6, forcing users to switch to Apple’s app, which many users found to be underwhelming or inaccurate when compared with Google’s offering.